


Factories

by karfishylicious



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Child Abuse, Child Labor, Cliffhanger, Depictions of injury, Gen, Industrial Revolution, Set in 1800s, chanyeol is 12, i wrote this for a class n decided to put it on here, kind of?, kyungsoo is 10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-18 23:25:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12398400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karfishylicious/pseuds/karfishylicious
Summary: historical fiction written for my US History class, Industrial Revolution era and talks about child labor and working conditions! lowkey graphic injury !





	Factories

     The sun shined through the blinds of Chanyeol Park’s dirty window, rousing the young man from his restless sleep. He groaned and covered his eyes with his arm, inhaling the sickening scent of day old machine oil stained on his skin. Chanyeol coughed, the wet rattle of his lungs shaking his body hard. He sat up, stretching his long arms before wincing as his back screamed in pain. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and onto the cold wood floor. It seemed like he always woke up in pain. His job at the textile factory was backbreaking. Twelve to fourteen hour days, working until he met his quota. The chemicals from the dyes filling his lungs and making him sick and dizzy. On occasion, one of the smaller kids working would get their hand stuck in one of the machines, or worse, their arm or torso. The overseers didn’t seem human, didn’t even bat an eye. Just grabbed a hatchet and sliced off the stuck body part and made them continue work. It was brutal, inhumane. But, it was life. If Chanyeol wanted to provide for his sister Yura then he had to do what it takes.  
     Chanyeol stands up, grabbing his worn clothes from his dresser and throws them on, lacing up his shoes before walking out of the cramped bedroom to the cramped living room. Consisting of nothing more than a small armchair, a short almost barren bookcase, a fireplace and the pot they used to cook. Deciding against starting breakfast for Yura in fear of being late, Chanyeol quickly grabbed a small loaf of bread and headed out into the dirty street, half jogging to the factory nearby. The sun just barely over the horizon illuminated the route, cool air making Chanyeol shiver. As the factory came into view, Chanyeol shoved the rest of his bread into his mouth and booked it to the front door. He didn’t know exactly what time it was, so he was hoping that he had managed to make it just in time. He didn’t want to be fined again this week, he could barely scrape up the money for a small package of oats that night.  
     Turns out luck was not on Chanyeol’s side today. As he ran in, one of the overseers, Sooman, grabbed him by his collar and dragged the tall, gangly boy in front of him.  
     “You’re a minute late, Park. 2 notes less pay today, and you’re going to be manning the cotton mill.” His rough voice tore through Chanyeol like claws. The cotton mill was infamous for accidents, which is why they always made the kids man them. They were expendable. Knowing he could do nothing as protesting would get him nothing but beat and penniless, Chanyeol simply nodded and walked off to join the rest of the workers on the floor. He made his way to the cotton mill, a giant machine with many dangerous places to get stuck on. There were a couple of grim faces Chanyeol recognized, Jongdae and Jongin Kim from down the street, only 12 and 9, faces shiny with sweat and grime from the humid air of the factory. But there was a new face, a short and soft-faced kid with small hands, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he tried to figure out how the machine worked. Chanyeol stood next to the newcomer and leaned down ever so slightly, trying to look normal as he started to work the machine.  
     “Hey. Watch me. If you don’t pick up quick they make you clean, which is much worse, trust me.” Chanyeol flashed the smaller a small smile, which was returned with a confused but grateful look before an overseer saw them and yelled at them to get back to work. The boy watched Chanyeol work quietly, picking up how to feed the cotton into the spinning machine. After he had gotten the hang of it, Chanyeol quickly looked around for anyone looking and leaned down once again to the smaller boy.  
     “I’m Chanyeol by the way.”  
     The other boy’s eyes whipped around, looking for overseers as well before he whispered back.  
     “I’m Kyungsoo. Thank you for helping me.  
     Chanyeol nodded minutely, focusing back on his work. That is until Kyungsoo’s name was called out.  
     “Kyungsoo Do! Go work the dyes!” Sooman called out from the overseer’s catwalk above them.  
     The boy’s eyes widened as he heard the order, but he obeyed diligently, shooting Chanyeol a nervous look as he walked to the next station, a large pot filled with boiling dye as it stained the woven cotton.  
     A girl who was already manned at that station, Amber, quietly taught Kyungsoo how to work the station as well, but every so often he would look back at Chanyeol and give a small smile, barely noticeable but still there nonetheless.  
     Soon, the whistle sounded for break, and all the children on the floor ran outside. Chanyeol was told he had to clean during breaks the whole week, so he stayed behind, leaving his station at the cotton mill to go and pick up his cleaning supplies. As soon as he turned his back though, a yell rang out through the almost abandoned factory and a large splash followed soon after. Chanyeol whipped around to find Kyungsoo missing from the top of the vats of dye, and two small hands, covered in red dye clinging onto the lip for dear life.  
     Chanyeol, not fearing the consequences, dropped the broom and ran forward, Kyungsoo’s cries of pain as he cooked in the boiling dye getting louder and louder as he ran. The overseers were climbing down from their catwalk, but Chanyeol got there first, racing up the ladder and leaning over the side of the vat, inhaling the chemical steam as he reached wildly for Kyungsoo’s hands. After what seemed like an eternity, Chanyeol managed to latch onto the boy’s small, blistered hands and pull him out of the vat, skin screaming from contact with the boiling dye running off Kyungsoo as he carried him down the ladder. He laid the smaller boy onto the cool concrete floor and quickly started undressing him, trying to release him from the burning clothing now blood red in color. Kyungsoo was coughing and twitching in pain, skin covered in quickly formed blisters and burns. Chanyeol’s heart ached as if Kyungsoo was his own brother, not some kid he had just met hours before. Finally, the overseer’s reached them and promptly pulled Chanyeol away, berating him for stepping in like that and not focusing on his own duties.  
     “HE COULD HAVE DIED! I GOT THERE FASTER THAN YOU DID, I SAVED HIS LIFE, HOW IS THAT B-”  
     He was cut off by a sharp slap across his face.  
     "How _dare_ you speak like that? You’re in for a beating, Park!”  
     The overseer ripped his belt from his waist and raised it above his head before swinging it down, the cold metal belt buckle and tough leather slicing through him like a sharp, hot knife. He screamed in pain, and the beatings continued until Chanyeol felt nothing but his stinging wounds all over. The last thing Chanyeol saw was Kyungsoo being carried away, His blistered face twisted in horror as his small, blood red hand weakly reached out for Chanyeol, only to fall as the boy cried in pain once more. Then it was black.


End file.
